This is part of a restful tradition that has been going on for thousands of years. It’s hard to tell precisely which culture and place was the first to do it.

Praying before bedmust seem natural to many people. Thesleeper is making himself or herself vulnerable by lying down. Nobody wants to be vulnerable because when you’re weak, you’re not secure. Still, everyone has to sleep.

Throughout time people have had to sleep in a wide variety of situations. They’ve gone to sleep while others have hunted them. They’ve been exhausted when their life is under threat. They’ve drifted offwhile being bombed or under siege.

They’ve known or heard of others who have died in their sleep. They think (if only in the back of their mind) death at night could happen to them too.

Then there have been times when they’ve had to go to sleep on the best day of their life. They don’t want to go to sleep then. They’d rather the day continue.

Yet to not sleep is not an option. This sets a person up for a quandary.

It’s easy to hate sleep.

Yet a bedtime prayer can be a valuable ritual, part of the acceptance process for the need for sleep, part of seeking security from enemies natural and supernatural. It’s the perfect time to turn over the joys and sorrows and the fears and fascinations to a higher power. The bedtime prayer process promotes a relaxed, easy mindset which promotes sleep.

Types of Bedtime Prayer

Some people are taught prayers as a child. Often, they continue with those.

Bedtime prayer gets some of the weight off of your mind. If you’re trying to go to sleep cursing your bad luck, or thinking about how one thing or another in your life could be better, you’re naturally going to have a hard time getting to sleep than someone who’s reflecting on all of the things that are going right.

Reflecting on what’s going right is another way of saying “counting your blessings.”

The ideal bedtime prayer is simple, memorable, and restful. It can be a short or long prayer. It should inspire a feeling of security and predispose you toward looking at the big picture. The big picture is critical to keep in mind because every day of your life is full of a bunch of ups and downs, even if everything in your life is trending upward.

There are plenty of ways of doing this.

A favorite traditional bedtime prayer for many Catholics and Christians in English is this one:

Now I lay me down to sleep,I pray the Lord, my soul, to keepIf I die before I wake,I pray the Lord, my soul, to take.

In Spanish, the most popular bedtime prayer is a prayer asking for assistance from their guardian angel in keeping them safe while they sleep.

A bedtime prayer in Italian also includes a petition to one’s guardian angel. The English translation is as follows:

Beautiful, beautiful little angel,come and stay always by my side,make me as good as you,and then take me to Jesus.

Some people use the prayer known as the Lord’s Prayer (or the ‘Our Father’) as a bedtime prayer.

Our Father,Who art in heaven.Hallowed be thy name.Thy kingdom come,Thy will be done.On Earth as it is in Heaven.Give us this dayOur daily breadAnd forgive us our trespassesAs we forgive thoseWho trespass againstAnd lead us not into temptationBut deliver us from evil. Amen.

Bedtime Prayers In Other Religious Traditions

Many traditions have a variation of the Lord’s Prayer translated into their respective language.

The Jewish faith has several, but here’s one that meets our guidelines of simple, memorable, and restful.

Adonai is one of the familiar names of God. Jews consider it disrespectful to use a proper name. It’s the equivalent of saying, “Lord.”

In the name of Adonai, the God of Israel:May the angel Michael be at my right,and the angel Gabriel be at my left;and in front of me, the angel Uriel,and behind me, the angel Raphael…and above my head, the Sh’khinah(Divine Presence).

Whatever you send yourself off to bed with, it’s better if it’s not something you have to read off of a sheet of paper, that if it’s something you have memorized. If you have it memorized, then it’s something you’ve internalized.

Hindus have a bedtime prayer too: “O God, kindly pardon my incorrect actions done consciously or unconsciously, either through my organs of action or through my organs of perception or by my mind. I adore the God, who is the ocean of kindness.”

What they all have in common is the promotion of a secure mindset that leads to relaxation. Many of them express hope of one thing or another, whether it’s heaven, forgiveness, prosperity, overcoming challenges, or protection.

They are adaptable to whatever circumstances you might find yourself trying to go to sleep in.

Help For Those Who Struggle With A Belief In a Higher Power

Everyone goes through periods of doubt at one time or another. Some people feel foolish about praying. On top of that, certain people don’t represent the official positions of their faiths very well. They fall far short of the ideals of their faith. It’s easy for someone standing on the outside to think, “there’s no way I want to be any part of that.”

Even though everyone doesn’t always feel free, they do have free will, if in no other way but to control their feelings. It’s crucial to separate humankind’s corruptible nature from humanity’s Creator. Humankind wouldn’t matter very much if we were a bunch of robots that had to do the bidding of a higher power.

One way of getting the benefits of bedtime prayer while struggling with belief in a higher power is to “act as if.” Based on the work of psychologist William James, another way of describing the practice is to “fake it until you make it.” For example, if you’re not happy and you act as if you are, your mood can change. If you’re not feeling confident and you act as if you are, you can begin to feel confident. Act as if. It’s hard for the body to maintain a paradox.

Remember, there are plenty of physical paradoxes in the universe. It’s entirely rational to think there “could be” a God. It’s okay to struggle with doubt. Any worthwhile God can take your doubt. Don’t let doubt keep you from taking advantage of the benefits of bedtime prayer.

How do you put yourself into a positive mindset for sleeping? Comment below.